Ink roll structure



p 1944- R. G. CHOLLAR 2,358,851

INK ROLL STRUCTURE Filed Dec. 29, 1941 FIG. 3

Robert G. Chollar Inventor B M His Attorney Patented Sept. 26,

, 2,358,851 INK ROLL STRUCTURE Robert G. Chollar, Dayton, Ohio, asslgnorto The National Cash Re Ohio, a corporation gister Company. Dayton,

of Maryland Application December 29, 1941, Serial No. 424,750

(Cl. ill-67.8)

3 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved ink supply roll structure forinking ribbons, electroplates, type, or any other similar printingmedium used in printing records or data.

A specific object of the invention is to provide an ink supp roll of ahighly absorbent quality, and one which can absorb and retain a largesupply of ink.

Another specific object of the invention is to provide an ink supplyroll which is made of unsized paper made of cellulose fibers and whichis porous, bulky, and of low finish, and which paper is commonly knownas blotting paper."

With these and incidental objects in view, the invention includescertain novel features of construction and combinations of parts, theessential elements of which are set forth in appended claims and apreferred form or embodiment of which is hereinafter described withreference to the drawing which accompanies and forms a part of thisspecification.

In said drawing:

Fig. 1 illustrates one application of the invention, in which a wick isconstructed to contact the inking roll at one edge thereof, as shown inP18. 3.

Fig. 2 shows the laminated construction of the ink supply roll.

Fig. 3 is a detail view trated in Fig. 1.

General description The invention disclosed herein comprises a new meansfor supplying ink to printers, and is illustrated herein as used inbusiness machines and the like. Machines of this character are adaptedto print many types of records, such as receipts issued from cashregisters, detail or audit strips, ledger cards, pass books, and thelike. Some impressions are made through the medium of inking ribbons,some direct from inked type and electros. In either case, it has alwaysbeen a problem to keep the ribbon, or other inking medium, in propercondition to provide good and uniform printed records over a long periodof time. In the past, an ink-saturated felt supply roll was commonlyused. When ink ribbons were used, the ribbon was threaded in the machinein such a way that it passed over and around the felt supply roll, thusreplenishing the supply of ink to the ribbon. When the impressions weremade direct from the type or electro, the felt roll was passed over thetype to ink the face thereof. This was a satisfactory inking medium;however, the felt rolls have certain inof the application illusherentobjectionable features. The principal objectionable features inherent ina felt roll are that the initial prints are so much wetter thansubsequent prints, and that the excess inking of the ribbon or typeextracts more ink than is necessary for such initial prints, thusprematurely exhausting the ink from the supply roll. Therefore, uniformprints for an extended period of time are impossible, thus making itnecessary to replace the felt rollers at too frequent intervals. Theseobjectionable features have been overcome by constructing the ink supplyrolls of soft spo y paper of an absorptive characteristic, which isporous, bulky, and of a low finish, commonly known as blotting paper.The particular grade of blotting paper which is satisfactory for inksupply rolls depends on the hardness and the nature of the inkingpressure, and the range of paper found satisfactory comes within thefollowing specifications: -140 pounds per 500 sheets, size 19 x 24",.021" thick, 16-18 Mullen strength.

In constructing the ink supply rolls of the above quality, it was foundconvenient touse stock blotting paper and stamp, or otherwise cut, disksfrom standard sheets, assemble these disks on an axle or support, andcompress the disks into a roll to resemble a solid roll of paper. Afterthe roll is assembled. its periphery is ground, lapped, or burnished toa smooth surface. The smooth surface and the lack of resiliency of thepaper roll, when compared to the best grade of felt roll, are thequalities that make the paper roll more suitable than felt rolls forre-inking ribbons. The smooth and comparatively hard surface of thepaper roll is not so spongy as the surface of a felt roll, and the poresof the roll are fine enough and the surface is hard enough so thatpressur of the ribbon and the capillary action of the ink do not causean oversupply of ink to reach the surface, thus supplying only therequired quantity of ink at the surface and preventing overinking atspots of rest of the ribbon.

Another advantage of the use of blotting. paper for ink supply rollsover felt rolls is that the blotting paper absorbs more ink per cubicvolume. The comparison of felt to paper of the above specification intheir capacity to absorb ink is as follows:

1 cubic inch of felt absorbs .53 cubic inch of ink.

1 cubic inch of blotting paper absorbs .70 cubic inch of ink.

The comparative results in actual use reveal that .70 cubic inch of inkin a blotting paper" roll gives are satisfactory printed cash. registerreceipts to 100 printed receipts from .53 cubic inch of ink in a feltink supply roller, ilhe reason for this is that the initial p s fromfelt rolls are wetter than the initial prints from paper rolls, andtherefore more ink is used than is necessary for obtaining a good print.This is due to the fact that the blotting paper rolls can be ground to asmooth surface, and the amount of ink on this smoothsuri'ace is moreuniform than that on the spongy and soft surface of a felt roll. Theamount of ink that rises to the surface of the blotting paper rollthrough capillary action can be regulated by the smoothness to which thepaper roll is ground, lapped, or burnished. This advantage cannot beattained in felt rolls, because felt is so porous that the inkingsurface cannot be ground to a smooth finish, and for this reason thefelt roll must of necessity have a coarse surface, which sometimes actsto smear the impression due to overlnking, Particularly when the roll issaturated when first installed. This obviously also means that a wasteof ink is had and the roll is drained of its ink supply more quicklythan the printing requirements demand. This waste of ink, taken with thefact that the felt cannot absorb as much ink as a blotting paper roll,illustrates why the novel roll disclosed herein has a longer life.

The blotting paper roll can be used in machines where it is not desiredto constantly replace the ink used therefrom. In some machines in use,the felt roll can be replaced by a blotting paper roll. In othermachines, a reservoir or ink well can be built into the machine and awick interposed between the reservoir and the roll, which wickconstantly replaces the ink taken from the ink roll. Many difierentforms of wicks can be used,

Another use for the novel ink roll is in machines in which it is notconvenient to replace the felt ink roll. In such uses, the novel roll isarranged to contact the felt roll and transfer the ink from the paperroll to the felt roll during the machine operation, when the two rollsrotate upon each other.

In this use, the paper roll has been found particularly efficient insupplying the correct amount of ink to maintain the felt roll in properinking condition. This result is due to the smooth surface and theresultant capillary action of the ink rising to the smooth surface,which action never provides more ink than is necessary to keep the feltroll in good inking condition. When a rough surface felt roll is usedfor this purpose, overinked areas result in places where capillaryaction provides an oversupply of ink, thus makin uniform printingimpossible.

In the machines where the paper ink supply roll is used, the paper rollis normally held out of contact with the felt roll while the machine isat rest, and is brought into contact therewith when the machine isoperated at the desired time, by any mechanical expedient. Thismechanical construction is provided to prevent overinking the felt rollsat the point of contact, which would take place if such a contact weremaintained while the machine is at rest.

A wick may be held in contact with the paper roll to maintain the paperroll at the saturation point at all times.

Detailed description The preferred construction of the blotting paperroll is best illustrated in Fig. 2. Disks it are cut from sheets ofblotting paper of the specifications given above and are threaded on anarbor or support it. The number of disks iii used for each roll dependson the length of roll desired. After the proper number of disks iii hasbeen assembled on the arbor it, they are compressed against one anotherand held in place by a disk or flange l2 at each end of the arbor H,which flanges may be held in proper spaced relationship on the arbor Hby any desired means. Pins 83 are shown herein for iliustrating theinvention. The diameter of the flanges Q? can vary with the requirementsand use of the roll. For example, they may be of a greater diameter thanthe paper roll, as shown in Fig. l, or they may be of the same diameteras the paper roll, as shown in Fig. 2. If a special use should requireit, the flanges can be made of slightly smaller diameter than thediameter of the roll,

Figs. 1 and 3 illustrate a wick it so constructed and arranged that anedge 55 thereof contacts the roll ill. The lower end of the wick it isimmersed in the ink 86 contained in the supply well H. The wick it ismade of any suitable material to convey the ink to the paper roll M3 sothat the roll always contains an ample supply of ink. When an inkingribbon is used, the ribhon i8 is fed around the inked roll ill andabsorbs ink from the surface thereof.

In the disclosure herein, the roll is is illus trated and described asbeing made from disks of commercial blotting paper of certainspecifications. However, the novelty of the invention is not limited toa roll made up of disks of blotting paper, since a solid roll formed ofpaper pulp of cellulose fibers comes within the scope of th presentinvention.

The invention has also been illustrated and described as used inbusiness machine printers. It is not the intention to limit the use ofthe invention to such machines, as it is obvious that the invention canbe utilized in many other machines where printing is performed.

While the form of the invention herein shown and described is admirablyadapted to fulfill the objects primarily stated, it is to be understoodthat it is not intended to confin the invention to the form orembodiment disclosed, for it is susceptible of embodiment in variousother forms all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is:

1. An ink supply roll consisting of a plurality of disks of unsizedpaper having a high quality of absorptivity, said paper being porous,bulky, and of low finish; and means to compress the disks against oneanother.

2. An ink supply roll comprising a plurality of disks of blotting paper;and means to maintain the disks in close contact with one another.

3. A roll comprising a plurality of disks of unsized, porous, bulky, andlow-finish paper ar ranged in close contact with one another; anda-fiange at each end of the roll to maintain the disks in such contactwith each other, said plurality of disks being saturated with ink toform an ink supply roll.

ROBERT G. CHOLLAR.

